JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 4/8/25

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Ben Clemens

2:34

but like.... not this high?

He has plus plus power and looked good in 2024. Sure, not a great spring training, but also, spring training

2:35

He's probably not gonna keep absolutely nuking the ball like he is right now but aside from the fact that he's turning half his fly balls into homers and that won't continue, the Statcast numbers look impressive and also similar to last year, when he was a good hitter who maybe got a little unlucky

Calvin

2:35

Re: Kurtz/Soderstrom....por que no los dos?

Ben Clemens

2:35

I thikn that they have a high bar to do that because they want Rooker to play DH as much as possible

2:36

If Kurtz forces their hand, I think they'll use all three, but at this point, he's played 13 games above A ball in his career

2:37

so I doubt there's a rush to force him to the majors nowrightnow. But yeah, Miguel Andujar is a much easier person to bench than Tyler Soderstrom. That's Kurtz's new competition for big league playing time

Calvin

2:37

Also, most of Soderstrom's homers have been wallscrapers in a minor league ballpark.

Ben Clemens

2:38

Well sure, but not a stadium with minor league dimensions

And also, not a stadium that I expect to play small until it gets hot

the high in Sacramento over the last few weeks is 75

2:39

In July, the average high is in the mid 90s. There's probably going to be some Wrigley to the park

Larry

2:39

With Vladdy getting the bag, how much do you think this improves Pete Alonso's next contract if he does decide to opt out?

Ben Clemens

2:39

Not a ton, really

That's about what I had Vlad down for

Kyle

2:39

Do we see Roman Anthony in Boston anytime soon?

Ben Clemens

2:40

To answer this question, ask yourself where the playing time would come from

2:41

Rafaela? Seems at least believable. He's hitting quite poorly and Duran can play center

But that's basically it, so if the Sox like Rafaela's defense too much to bench him, Anthony is down until there's an injury-related opening

2:42

I really don't want to see him get called up and then not play

Nate

2:42

Maikel Garcia breaking out?

Ben Clemens

2:42

Ah, an annual rite of spring

by which I mean, prove it Maikel

I don't buy it

Pitch Please

2:43

Are we looking at breakouts for Tylor Megill and Kris Bubic or is it just a case of a good two-start sample size?

Ben Clemens

2:43

I'm more constructive on Bubic after he looked excellent last year

With Megill, we've seen this basic act before

I think he's a nice swingman but probably not much more

Bullock

2:43

Glad to see Toronto pay up to keep their young star, I always like that. But how are the Jays going to win with him? They're old, very expensive, not good enough right now, without obvious impact talent ready on the farm, and in a division full of ascendant teams. If not for Vlad Jr, this would be an obvious time for a rebuild cycle.

Ben Clemens

2:44

I think you might have said that about the Royals, the Tigers, the Guardians with Ramirez, a few other teams. The idea is that it's hard to find great players, but teams develop impact talent all the time. Maybe Alek Manoah comes back and looks good. Maybe Alejandro Kirk is good on defense and offense at the same time. Are we so sure Will Wagner isn't the next Brandon Lowe? superstars are the hardest thing in baseball to acquire. Teams wiht money and time can get most of the other things

ButHe's23

2:45

Tovar is just going to hit .270 w/.295 obp and some accumulating stats his whole career... isn't he?

Ben Clemens

2:45

oh yeah

and as long as he plays a gold glove shortstop, it's gonna be perfectly fine

people want Omar Vizquel and his career 83 wRC+ in the hall of fame

2:46

the swing at everything no power approach limits Tovar's upside but I think it also kind of gives him a floor, which is okay as long as the majority of his contributions come with a glove on

Edf that

2:46

Bombs baby! Put Rooker in CF for all I care.

Ben Clemens

2:47

To come back to an earlier topic.... lol

Mr. Fister

2:47

Why do the Rockies?

Ben Clemens

2:47

Sorry, I don't have the time to answer this one

Bullock

2:47

Colt Keith has dropped his swing% by 16 points and is running a BB% of 30%. How much can he keep that up? Could lots of players just decide to stop swinging and run a .400 OBP for a couple weeks?

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Ben Clemens hosts a chat